Ballot box



1957 B. PHILLIPS 2,777,633

BALLOT BOX Filed Jan. 28, 195 4 2 Sheets-Sheet l (Z4 (/4 I I j l ,3 N

| /0 i /8 I I Z i E: Z INVENTORI ATTORNEYS.

B. PHILLIPS 2,777,633

BALLOT BOX Jan. 15, 1957 Filed Jan. 28,- 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR I BROOK: /l/u. /Ps

BY flv ra ATTORNEYS- United t s Patent BALLOT BOX Brooks Phillips, Salisbury, N. C.

Application January 28, 1954,, Serial No. 406,755

3 Claims. or. 232-4 This invention relates to ballot boxes and more parti cularly to a ballot box having a removable paddle member mounted therein whereby the capacity of the box is substantially increased.

It has heretofore been the practice to fold ballots before placing the same in a ballot box and this greatly decreased the capacity of the box. By means of the present invention a substantially greater number of ballots may be placed in a box than has heretofore been possible without impairing the secrecy of the individual ballots.

It is an object of this invention to provide a ballot box having top and bottom walls, side walls and end walls, the top wall having a transverse slot therein for admitting in dividual ballots and one end wall having a transverse slot adjacent its juncture with said top wall for the reception of a removable paddle member slidably mounted therein. The paddle member normally extends downwardly at an angle within the box between opposite end walls to divide the same into substantially equal upper and lower portions and is provided to insure that each ballot will, as it is admitted to the box, assume a fiat superposed position relative to the ballots previously cast.

It is another object of this invention to prow'de a box of the type described wherein means are provided for visually ascertaining when the upper half of the box is filled so the paddle member may be removed to allow the ballots thereon to fall to the bottom of the box. The paddle member may then be returned to substantially its former position, it being understood that the angle at which the paddle extends will incline toward the horizontal as the box becomes filled.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is an isometric view of the present invention showing the removable panel member positioned at an angle within the box;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the ballot box;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of one end of the ballot box;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the box showing the manner in which ballots are deposited therein;

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the opposite end of the ballot box from that shown in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along 6-6 in Figure 5 and showing the manner in which the box may be opened to remove the ballots.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, it will be observed that the present invention comprises a substantially rectangular box having a top wall 10, a bottom wall 11, end walls 12. and 13 and side walls 14 and 15.

The side wall 15 is preferably formed from a transparent material such as glass or plastic and the remainder of the walls may be formed from a rigid material such as wood or metal. The end wall 13 is hingedly connected to the bottom wall 11 as by a hinge l6 and is releasably connected to the top wall 10 as by a latch or hasp 17 which mates with a loop member 18 fixed to the top wall 10. The

ice

top and bottom walls 10 and 11 have longitudinal grooves 20 adjacent corresponding side edges in which the transparent side wall 15 is mounted and the remainder of the walls are rigidly interconnected as by glue, screws, nails or the like.

The top wall 10 has a transverse slot .21 therein through which ballots B may be admitted to the box and it will be observed that the slot is inclined inwardly and to the right in Figure 4 to insure that the ballots B enter the box at a desired angle.

The capacity of the box is greatly increased by the provision of a removable paddle member 22 which normally extends at an angle within the box from a point adjacent the lower edge of the end walls 13 to a point adjacent the upper edge of the end wall 12 to divide the box into substantially equal upper and lower portions, it being observed that the paddle 22 normally extends at an angle of substantially 45 degrees. The end wall 12 is provided with a transverse inclined slot 23 at apoint coinciding with the intersection of the paddle 22 and the end wall 12 through which the outer or handle portion of the paddle 22 extends.

The slot 23 is inclined inwardly and downwardly at an angle approximating 45 degrees and suitably inclined shoulders or extensions 24 and 25 are formed integral with the'upper and lower walls of the slot 23 on the outer and inner surfaces of the end wall 12, respectively, in order to assist in maintaining the paddle 22 at the desired position within the box. The shoulders 24 and 25 may be separate members suitably secured to the walls 10 and 12, if desired.

It should be noted that the ballot box thus described may be used in association with ballots of any size or shape as the box may be constructed in various sizes and shapes without departing from the spirit of the invention. In this connection it should be noted that the box should substantially conform to the shape of the ballots to be inserted therein and should, of course, be of at least slightly greater dimensions than the ballots.

In operation, the paddle '22 is positioned within the box as shown in Figure 1 prior to the admittance of ballots B through the slot 21. As the individual ballots B are passed through the slot '21 in unfolded condition they will accumulate in superposed parallel relation upon the upper surface of the paddle 22. It should be here noted that the slot 21 is spaced from the end wall 12 a suflicient distance to insure that the lower ends of the ballots B passed through the slot 21 will pass over the upper ends of the ballots B which have previously accumulated on the paddle 22. Without the paddle 22, the distance between the slot 21 and the bottom wall 11 would be such as to cause the ballots B to fall in an irregular manner and to quickly jam and fill up the box. The paddle causes the ballots to lie fiat and increases the capacity of the box.

When it is observed through the transparent wall 15 that a sumcient number of ballots overlie the paddle 22, the paddle 22 may be moved outwardly through the slot 23 to permit the ballots B to fall to the bottom of the box. By removing the paddle 22 from the box at an angle controlled by the shoulders 24 and 25 the ballots B retain their superposed parallel relationship as they fall to the bottom of the box. The paddle may then be repositioned within the box and the process repeated until the box is filled, it being understood that the inner end of the paddle 22 will rest upon the uppermost ballot B instead of against the end Wall 13 after the box is more than half full.

After the box is filled the ballots may be removed for counting by releasing the hasp 17 and pivoting the wall 13 about the hinge 16 as shown in Figure 6. This arrangement permits all of the ballots B to be removed at once in a neat stack which greatly facilitates the counting of the ballots.

If desired, a plurality of individual boxes may be readily interconnected to form a multiple unit device for accommodating a' large number of voters.

While the wall 15 is shown as being transparent for purposes of illustration it should be observed that it is not necessarily so. In some localities legal provisions may not permit a transparent Wall and in such a case a solid or opaque wall maybe used. Periodically the paddle 22 may be removed without the necessity of visual inspection. Secrecy is maintained with the transparent wall if the ballots are inserted face downwardly.

It is thus seen that there is provided a ballot box of simple and economical construction which eliminates the folding of ballots and still preserves their secrecy and which will accommodate a substantially larger number of ballots than has heretofore been possible in boxes of comparable size. Also, the use of the present invention greatly facilitates the counting of ballots in that it eliminates the necessity of unfolding each ballot and maintains the ballots in a neat bundle which may be removed intact through the hinged wall.

In the drawings andspecification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms have been employed, it is to be understood that they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A rectangular ballot box for fiat planar ballots comprising side, top and bottom Walls, one of said side walls having a first transverse slot adjacent its upper end, a paddle mounted in said first slot, said paddle extending inwardly and downwardly at an inclined angle within said box and having a handle portion extending outwardly from said first slot, said top wall having a second transverse slot spaced from its juncture with said one side wall, the length of said slots and width of said paddle being substantially coextensive with the width of said box between remaining opposite side walls, whereby successive ballots may be introduced to said box and stacked upon said inclined paddle, and said paddle being movable outwardly through said first slot relative to said box to permit successive stacks of said ballots to fall downwardly in superposed relation upon the bottom of said box.

2. In a ballot box for the reception of flat planar ballots, said box having top and bottom walls, side walls and end walls, one of said walls being movable relative to the remainder of the box for removing the ballots, the combination of means for increasing the capacity of said ballot box comprising one of said end walls have a first downwardly and inwardly inclined transverse slot adjacent its upper end, a paddle slidbaly mounted in said inclined slot, one end of said paddle being normally positioned against the other of said end walls adjacent its a lower edge and the otherend of said paddle extending outwardly beyond said slot, said top wall having a second downwardly and inwardly inclined transverse slot therein through which ballots may be inserted, the length of said slots andwidth of said paddle being substantially coextensive with the width of said box between remaining opposite side walls, whereby said ballots may be positioned on the upper surface of said paddle in flat superposed relationship, and said paddle being movable outwardly at an angle relative to said box to permit the ballots thereon tofall downwardly within the box in flat superposed relationship.

3. A rectangular tubular ballot box for flat planar ballets, said box comprising top and bottom walls, a pair of side walls and'a pair of end walls, a first of said end walls having a first inclined transverse slot adjacent its upper end, shoulders secured to the inner and outer surfaces of said one end wall adjacent the lower and upper walls of said first inclined slot, said shoulders having mating inclined surfaces thereon extending in alinement from the upper and lower walls of said first inclined slot, a paddle slidably mounted in said first inclined slot between said shoulders, said paddle extending inwardly at an angle within said box and having its inner end normally positioned against the inner surface of the second end Wall and said paddle having a handle portion extending outwardly from saidfirst inclined'slot, said second end wall being hingedly connected at its lower edge to said bottom wall and being releasably connected adjacent its upper edge to said top wall, said top wall having a second inclined transverse slot spaced from its juncture with said one end wall, the length of said slots and width of said paddle being substantially coextensive with the width of said box between remaining opposite side walls, and said paddle being movable inwardly and outwardly through said first inclined slot relative to said box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

